@ALDEParty: a day of advanced bureaucracy for political parties

It does sometimes seem hard to believe that I’m now in my seventh year as a member of the ALDE Party’s Financial Advisory Committee. Perhaps that’s because, when I was first appointed, it was on the basis that we would serve no more than three two-year terms, but for various reasons, we have all been extended, some of us for one year, the remainder (including myself) for two.

And in that time, the Committee has evolved. We still do financial advisory stuff, but we also consider grant applications to the Political Projects fund, we examine proposals for new types of spending and advise on such things as fundraising strategy. We are, perhaps, a sounding board for the Secretariat and the Bureau, given our experience of the internal dynamics of political parties. My history as a Regional Secretary, Treasurer and all around bureaucrat gives me an unusual perspective, which comes in handy.

Our relationship with the Secretariat is a healthy one, in that we are willing to ask challenging questions, but have, over time developed a genuine respect for the ability of the senior management team. Indeed, I find myself wondering how the similar relationship between the relevant bodies of the Liberal Democrats and the executive team works. Fortunately, that remains someone else’s problem.

Today, we examined the recently completed 2017 audit, looked at the 2018 budget figures to date, and discussed the relationship between the Committee and the Bureau. We also gave some thoughts on how the Bureau might look at filling the vacancies on our committee as they arise. 

I can’t, for reasons of organisational integrity, discuss the audit. It remains to be considered by the Bureau and the ALDE Party Council, each of which has legal responsibilities, but I am personally reassured that the Party’s finances are healthy and that the fiscal controls are in good hands.

We have had an influence over the years, drawing up an ethical fundraising strategy for the Party which, I understand, has been duplicated by the European People’s Party (plagiarism is the ultimate form of flattery, I guess, although a payment for our work would be nice...), and leading on a restructuring of the membership fee system to make it easier for small member parties from poorer countries.

One thing that does vaguely worry me though is that we appear to have become, almost by stealth, the only group holding the Bureau and the Secretariat to account. Council seems to take increasingly little interest in the day to day running of the ALDE Party, which is rather its constitutionally defined role. In an organisation where transparency is considered important, that might not be critical, but there is a principle here.

When the Liberal Democrats elect members of the ALDE Party Council, candidates tend to talk about ideas, about policy. They don’t talk about how a liberal political party should be run and operated, perhaps because it’s rather dull. And yet, a political party should, in the way it works, reflect its philosophical roots, within the confines of legislation.

I suspect, though, that our delegation is not alone in being more interested in ideas than in process. And if people aren’t interested in process, they are, not unreasonably, not going to pay much attention to such things, trusting the professional staff and the Bureau to take care of it.

Which is why I wondered aloud about reforming Council to sharpen its focus...

Federal International Relations Committee - I'm going to need another set of coloured pens, aren't I?

It's taken me much longer than usual to report back on what happened at FIRC's first meeting, and I am grateful to Caron and the team at Liberal Democrat Voice for fitting my piece in at rather short notice. It's just that I had almost forgotten just how much work there is to do with a new Committee, especially at a time of organisational change.

You can, of course, just wing it but, if I'm honest, laying down some ground rules early tends to avoid quite a lot of pain later. Thus, it is clear that whilst Robert, our Chair, will play good cop, I am to be the disciplinarian, creating structure, designing process, monitoring compliance, enforcing the Federal Constitution. It isn't necessarily glamorous, but then, dealing with things that go wrong subsequently is even less fun. And, if I say so myself, I'm good at it.

Paul Reynolds had written a very interesting paper on the Committee's policy role, and it was unfortunate that we didn't find time to discuss it properly - remind me to schedule it into a far more disciplined agenda for our next meeting - as we need to establish the relationship between ourselves and Federal Policy Committee. We apparently advise them, although as they have a place on our Committee, and we don't have one on their's, you do wonder how that works in practice.

We focussed on campaigning for the most part in our strategy session, and whilst I acknowledge that campaigning is essential, you do need to have something to campaign on, and unless we are a Party of ideas, we risk falling back into the routine of campaigning against things rather than for them. That got us into government, but it became increasingly clear that, once we had done so, and the Tories had stolen so many of our clothes, we didn't offer much reason to vote positively for us other than hard-working local MPs and an unproven ability to restrain the Tories from being more right-wing.

We also need to integrate our work with ALDE and Liberal International into that of the wider Party. It does, in the nicest way, feel like a bit of a hobby sometimes, a group of well-meaning souls debating big issues without always having much of a mandate to do so. Our delegations, after all, are made up for the most part of people who volunteer themselves and are selected by a process so opaque that even I don't really comprehend it. That can't be good, can it?

In fairness, it always seems to have been done like that, but in a modern age, we need to be more transparent. We also need to ensure that those who are included in our delegations as voting members actually earn their places. It shouldn't be too much to ask that they attend delegation meetings and voting sessions, although some of our people take a curiously dim view of having such obligations. So, that's another project for later in the year...

I also want to do some policy work, or at least make a credible contribution to it. That might be a bit daunting when you're surrounded by former diplomats, journalists and MEPs (we have two on the Committee, plus our remaining extant one), not to mention four Peers and an MP, but I do bring the perspective of someone whose background is not entirely British. Besides, policy is about combining knowledge with principles, and I like to think that my liberal principles are sound enough. 

Yesterday, Cambridge, today, the world!

Well, that was all a bit accidental. I arrived at the International Relations Committee a bit late - a level crossing problem at Claydon, track failure at Colchester, a rhinoceros on the line at Shenfield, you know, the usual Abellio Greater Anglia experience - having probably missed the Governance Review bit. And you know how much I love governance stuff...

However, it hadn't happened, and the agenda indicated that we were to adopt the idea that all Federal Committees would appoint a Secretary from amongst its own ranks. Apparently, nobody wanted the job... And whilst I have very little experience in a Secretariat role - five years as a Regional Secretary (in two Regions), Secretary General of the Young Liberals, Secretary of one of Liberal Youth's forerunners, etc, etc - I saw an opportunity to serve. And so I now do. 

Of course, this offers up a new challenge, in that without a job description, it is unclear what my role is. I could do whatever takes my fancy, interfering to my heart's content. You will doubtless be reassured that this is not my intention...

But having ideas is one thing, having a strategy is quite another. And so, gentle reader (and Jennie), I turn to you. What do you want to know about our work and how? What would make International Relations Committee more relevant/useful to you?

Stay tuned for more adventures in bureaucracy as "Liberal Bureaucracy" goes global...

ELDR Council Delegation - is encouraging potential opposition really a good idea?

Very few of you, I hope, noticed a piece on Liberal Democrat Voice last week, encouraging people to stand for places on the Party's delegation to ELDR Council.

I wrote it because I was asked nicely, and because there are people out there who might be good for the role. Unfortunately, it's a role that I want to keep, partly because I enjoy it, partly because it seems that I might be quite good at it. And, by encouraging competitors, it makes it less likely that I'll be re-elected. This would be bad, right?

Yet, I think that it's the right thing to do. We are, as a delegation, a bit short on BAME members (that would be me), and poor at reporting back (present company excepted). I'm not entirely convinced that we are, for the most part, that well connected to the heart of our Party, or truly representative - we're a bit bourgeois and middle class (I admit to being both). So, some fresh blood might be good.

I'm not always sure how I fit into the delegation. Most of my colleagues are political, international, multilingual - I'm an English speaking bureaucrat with a love of travel and an interest in history, although I find ELDR Council extremely congenial. Like my Parish Council, it is easy to comprehend yet difficult to truly understand, and you have to approach it in a way that respects tradition and practice, always aware that it was there before you, and will be after you're gone. The debate is usually measured, and clarity is valued over passion (I'm not always great at the latter).

What I bring is a bureaucrat's eye to an organisation that is administrative, rather than political, collaborative, rather than combative. It is gentle - most of the time - and I value that.

And so, I'll be running for re-election. I'll supply a manifesto, one that will follow on from that of two years ago, and Conference delegates can vote on my record. Hopefully, that will be good enough...